Laying emphasis on emotions through bodily movements and facial expressions is indeed a difficult task. Abhinaya, a concept in Bharata’s Natya Shastra literally means art of expression and stems from the Sanskrit word abhi (towards) and ni (guide), which makes it leaning towards an emotion or rasa. Considered to be a tough task for dancers, abhinaya doesn’t come easily to many. Most dancers take to abhinaya at much advanced stages in their career since refinement of emotions and expressing them with subtlety and dexterity comes at a later stage.
However, the upcoming dance festival Mudra, at the National Centre for Performing Arts doesn’t have a specific theme this year. The underlying tones are that of showcasing various aspects of abhinaya. The Mudra Dance Festival features events throughout April leading up to three days of spectacular performances, in celebration of the International Dance Day on April 29.
Amrita Lahiri, head — programming (dance) says that Mudra will focus on abhinaya and its nuances. Although the theme of the dance festival in its last edition was the “Nayaka”, this year there is no specific theme. “Mudra will feature some of the most senior dancers this year. From Pandit Birju Maharaj to Aruna Mohanty and Sadanand Balakrishnan, the line-up is exciting. And we didn’t have a theme since it is unfair to ask the senior dancers of their stature to stick to some theme. However, since all of them are going to bring out various aspects of abhinaya, it is going to be interesting to see the nuances of the dance language come alive on stage,” says Amrita.
Pandit Birju Maharaj needs no introduction. The legendary Kathak maestro will be performing on April 26 at the Experimental theatre at NCPA, which is meant for a performance for a closer contact with the audience. His senior disciple Saswati Sen says that Panditji wants to highlight the traditional baithak Kathak which is rare to see these days. “Panditji wanted a space where he could closely connect with the audience. Since abhinaya is an important aspect of Kathak, it is essential that the intricacies of emotions are portrayed beautifully on stage. Since most of his pieces are extempore, the final act is a pleasant surprise,” says Sen.
Another performance that is much awaited during the festival is Kathakali dancer Sadanand Balakrishnan’s. On April 27, he will present Keechakavadham, which is a tale of lust and cunningness from the Mahabharata. It’s when the Pandavas and their wife Draupadi live incognito in the kingdom of Virada. On spotting Draupadi in her guise as Sairandhri, the queen’s maid, Virada’s brother-in-law Keechaka is consumed by lust. Then on it is an interesting interplay of love and lust.
On April 27 Odissi danseuse Aruna Mohanty will present Gatha along with her troupe. Gatha will comprise a traditional Pallavi in Raag Khamaj, a dance piece called Rasa which will focus on the nine rasas through the story of Ramayana and a dance ballet on Krupanidhana. The last piece will be essentially about Jaganaath cult and Jaganaath consciousness in the core Oriya life and culture.
Abhinaya revolves around intricacies of emotions and perfecting the art of elucidating it has a lot of difficult moments. Bharatanatyam dancer, Bragha Bessell, known for her mastery on the art of expressions will present Patra Dhwani: Padams and Javalis in Bharatanatyam on April 28. She will present eight dance pieces, which trace myriad emotions through the padams and javalis.
Chhau dancer Shashadar Acharya, who will present his production on April 28 says that his performance will particularly highlight the aesthetics and expressions through different body movements. “The beauty of Chhau lies in its presentation. It is important to realise its understated glory, which often gets masked (literally,” says Acharya.
The Mudra Dance Festival begins with performances on April 26. Apart from that a host of various other activities related to dance are also scheduled.